Explaining God’s Justice to Kids

One of my seminary professors once told me that God’s love and God’s justice are two sides of the same coin – you can’t have one without the other. As you teach kids and help them gain an understanding of God’s love, it is important to also teach them about God’s justice.

Check out the following verses as you prepare to teach about God’s justice:

Job 37:23

Psalm 9:16

Psalm 33:4-5

Acts 17:30-32

Romans 3:23-26

Romans 6:23

In addition to the Scripture above, I have found this analogy helpful in explaining God’s justice to kids:

Think about a policeman. If a policeman saw someone steal something or hurt someone else and he did nothing about it, would you say that is a good policeman? No. We expect police to catch people that do bad things and to put them in jail. Now think about God. God knows all the bad things we do. If God never punished people for the bad things that we do, would we say that he is a good God? No. People that do bad things deserve to be punished. That is fair and right. If God punished all of us eternally in hell, that would be fair – it is what we deserve. God is just, but the good news (gospel) is that he is also loving and gives us the chance to receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

God’s love and God’s justice are two sides of the same coin. Teaching on one without the other is incomplete. Helping kids understand God’s justice will also help them to have a deeper appreciation for God’s love and grace, and it will help them to have a fuller, more well-rounded understanding of the gospel.